Something so Simple
by LaurenNicole97
Summary: Carlos' helmet. Logan hated it. So he decides that something needs to be done about it. But what happens once it's gone? *Set during Big Time Break Up, minus the Jo situation*  NO SLASH!


NOTES FROM LAUREN NICOLE: Hey everybody! So I know I desperately need to update "Cabin Living" and "Palmwoods Love" (Trust me, I KNOW! RushersRuleTheWorld97 says so too.). Here is another (hopefully) fabulous installment of "Things I Write When I Have Writer's Block That End up Being Good Enough to be Posted on Fanfiction"! Maybe I should work on what I call that…Hmmm… Anyways, let's keep this note short and get on with the program!

***Plot for this one shot- What if Logan and Kelly HAD managed to take away Carlos' helmet in Big Time Break-Up? Hmmm… *strokes imaginary beard*

***Carlos is gonna be very cute and kinda little kid-ish in this. Just saying =) Oh, and everyone grab an umbrella, because there will be quite a bit of waterworks. Just a little warning.

"The lullaby _actually_ worked." Kelly said in slight awe. She hadn't been positive if the idea would work, but it did. The music put Carlos to sleep, and Logan was able to carefully slide the black helmet off the boy's head. He and Kelly then sprinted back to 2-J before Carlos could wake back up. "What should we do with it?"

"I'm going to go hide it in my room." Logan decided. As much as he despised that plastic 'menace', he couldn't allow himself to throw it away or destroy it. Logan entered the room he and Kendall shared and slid open his sock drawer. He set it in the back corner and shoved a few pairs of socks around it. He shut the drawer and rejoined Kelly in the living room. "Well that's that."

"Great." Kelly smiled. Her cellphone played little melody and she pulled it out of her pocket. She glanced at the screen and sighed. "I gotta go. Remember, I'll be here at nine thirty tomorrow morning to pick you guys up. Be ready." Logan nodded.

"It was great working with you." He smirked. Kelly laughed and left the apartment. Logan plopped down on the bright orange sectional, picked up the latest issue of "Future Doctor" off of the coffee table, and read, enjoying the silence.

X~X~X~X

Carlos' eyelids slowly opened as cool rain drops landed on his forehead. He sat up in the lounge chair he had fallen asleep in. The other Palmwoods' residents were gathering their things, trying to get inside before the rain came down harder. Carlos brought his hand up to wipe the rain off of his head when he made a realization- he wasn't wearing his helmet.

He popped up off of the chair looked on the small table next to him. It wasn't there. He got onto his hands and knees, scanning the ground for his precious companion. The rain was now falling with more force, stinging his skin as it hit him. He ran through the doors into the lobby and made a turn for the elevator. Carlos hit the button, bouncing on the balls of his feet anxiously. The doors opened and he stepped on, waiting to arrive on his floor. He chewed his bottom lip anxiously as the elevator came to a halt. He literally sprinted to apartment 2J.

Kendall and James, who had been at the store picking up supplies for dinner tonight since Mrs. Knight was out of town, had returned and were making dinner. Logan was watching a documentary on the Discovery Health channel, and Katie was sitting on the couch playing "Castle Smashers". They all turned to face Carlos as he flung open the door.

"Hey, dude. Where've you been?" James greeted.

"I was looking for my helmet. Have you seen it?" Carlos asked in a rushed voice. He needed to find it, or he thought he would explode.

"Last I saw it, it was on your head." James admitted. He stirred a pot of milk, butter, and that cheese powder that came with boxes of macaroni and cheese. Kendall was watching a tray of French fries and chicken nuggets heat up in the oven, making sure they didn't burn. He shook his head, implying that he hadn't seen it since Carlos left while wearing it.

"Katie, have you?" Carlos asked the young girl. She shook her head as well, not looking up from her handheld game.

"Logan?" Carlos had reached the raven haired boy. Logan's eyes widened a little and he took in a small breath.

"Not recently, sorry." Logan inwardly smiled. It had been easier to lie than he thought it would've been. But he knew he needed to lie for Carlos' sake. It would eventually be worth it.

"Oh, alright." Carlos' face dropped. His mood went from anxious to depressed, upon hearing that his friends didn't know where his beloved hockey helmet was. He started towards his and James' room, dragging his feet along the floor.

"Wait, where are you going? Dinner's almost ready." Kendall informed the young Latino. Carlos stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"I'm not really hungry." He said simply, and continued to his room. He shuffled into the bedroom and pushed the door shut. He flopped down onto the blue and green comforter on his bed. Carlos pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face in the pillow. Warm tears streamed down his tan cheeks as he sobbed quietly.

He had no idea where his helmet could've gone. He had it on by the pool, fell asleep, and when he woke up it was gone. It just didn't make sense to him. But where could it be?

X~X~X~X

Logan, James, Kendall, and Katie sat down at the table, ready to eat. As they loaded up their dinner plates, Kendall spoke up.

"Guys, this isn't going to be good. Carlos needs his helmet. He's not eating, he's so upset." The blonde boy pointed out.

"Carlos always finds his helmet. He'll probably burst out of his room any second and remember where he left it." Logan responded, hoping that nobody was catching on to his lie.

"I sure hope so. Remember last time he couldn't find his it?" Katie added, referring to the time when Carlos tore the entire apartment apart trying to find it.

"I'll talk to him after we finish eating." James decided. The rest of the group nodded and continued eating their dinner.

X~X~X~X

Thirteen minutes later, James dropped his empty plate in the sink along with his fork. He retrieved a bowl out of the cabinet, a spoon out of the drawer, and the carton of chocolate ice cream from the freezer. He filled the bowl with Carlos' favorite treat, and topped it off with whipped cream, hot fudge, rainbow sprinkles, and a plump red cherry. James brought the dessert up to his and Carlos' room, where he found the youngest band member curled up staring at the wall.

James sat down on the edge of Carlos' bed.

"Carlos, I brought you something to eat." He said kindly. The young boy sat up and rubbed his eyes. James handed him the bowl of ice cream. Carlos took the spoon and swirled around the sweet, sugary dessert silently. James sighed at the lack of progress he was making. "Okay, talk to me."

"What's there to talk about? Helmet's gone, and I don't know where to find him." Carlos whimpered, staring at the slowly melting ice cream.

"Well you don't need to be so down about it." James nudged his shoulder. "I can help you look for it tomorrow." Carlos looked up at the tall brunette with his big brown eyes.

"Really?" He asked in an innocent voice. James nodded, making Carlos smile. He set his bowl on the floor next to his bed and wrapped his arms around James. He was slightly surprised by the sudden gesture, but hugged Carlos back.

"Of course." James assured. He let go of Carlos and stood up. "Now, if we want to get an early start on looking tomorrow, we should get to bed." He suggested, placing the untouched, now almost completely melted, bowl of ice cream on the night stand between the boy's beds. James changed into a tank top and sweat pants and turned off the light. He crawled into bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Carlos, on the other hand, was having a more difficult time. He tossed and turned, finding sleeping almost impossible without the comfort of his helmet. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he went to bed without either wearing it, or clinging to it for dear life. It wasn't something he really ever thought about, he just did it. And now that he couldn't, everything was thrown out of whack. And it was driving him crazy.

_next door in Logan's and Kendall's room…_

Kendall was already asleep, and Logan was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. His mind was thinking of everything but sleep. He couldn't decide whether or not taking Carlos' helmet was a smart idea. His brain was telling him that it was time for Carlos to grow up a little and move on from his helmet. He was a sixteen year old boy, he didn't need a hunk of plastic to make him feel happy and comforted. His mind tried to convince him that what he had done was a good, positive thing for Carlos.

But his heart tried to make him think differently. Logan had the image of Carlos' sad eyes, and that lost look on his face stuck in his head, and he couldn't forget it. Part of him was convinced that no good could possibly come out of hiding Carlos helmet. The youngest boy having a hockey helmet wasn't necessarily a _bad_ thing. He wasn't hurting anyone, so what did it matter? But the other part of him thought that Carlos having his helmet wasn't hurting just anyone, it was hurting himself.

Logan managed to exhaust himself with his inner-conflict and he fell into a fitful sleep.

_the next morning…_

James slowly opened his eyes, his rest being disrupted by a bright light shining on his face. He looked around to see Carlos standing at the window, dressed in dark blue jeans, a blue and grey striped t-shirt, and black Converse high tops. He had opened the curtains, successfully waking up James.

"Morning!" He greeted cheerfully, eager to get searching for his helmet. James groaned and stuck his face into his pillow. Carlos rolled his eyes and went over to James' bed. He grabbed hold of the tall boy's wrist and somehow managed to pull him out of bed and on to the carpeted floor. James sat up and glared at Carlos.

"Dude, what are you doing?" He asked in a tired and slightly aggravated voice.

"We need to find helmet today, _remember_?" Carlos emphasized the last word.

"I know, but what time is it?" He asked, now making an attempt to stand up. Carlos glanced at his red watch.

"Seven-thirty three a.m." He announced. "See, we're already running late! Now hurry up and get dressed. My helmet is out there somewhere, and we need to go find it." Carlos pulled open one of James' dresser drawers, took out the first thing he touched, and tossed it to James. The tall boy looked at the clothes; an olive green t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. Carlos left the room so James could get dressed. Three minutes later, emerged from the bedroom, all dressed, and he started towards the bathroom to do his hair.

"Uh, no no no no no!" Carlos jumped up off of the couch and held his hand out, standing between James and the bathroom. James gave him a very confused look. "Do you realize _how long_ it takes you to do your hair?" Carlos explained, like it should've been obvious. James rolled his eyes, and the shorter boy tossed him a Yankees cap that he had picked up at a show in New York. "Here, wear this. Then you won't have to worry about your hair." He added with a cheeky smile. James sighed and slipped the cap on.

Carlos, now convinced that they were ready, lead the way out of the apartment, determined to find his helmet.

in the lobby…

"Mr. Bitters!" Carlos rang the bell in the counter and called to the manager of the Palmwoods. The large, unpleasant man emerged from his office holding a carton of French fries and a bottle of ketchup.

"What do you want, Hockey Head?" Mr. Bitters grumbled.

"I lost my helmet. Did anybody say they found it or maybe turned it in?" Carlos asked with an innocently optimistic voice.

"No, now please go bother someone else." The man retreated back to his office. Carlos looked at James and sighed.

"Well he was helpful." The shorter boy stated sarcastically. James cracked a small, sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, so where to next?" He asked.

"I was thinking, the Jennifers are always by the pool. Maybe they saw something?" Carlos suggested.

"It's worth a shot." Honestly, James wasn't expecting much of a result, considering it was the Jennifers of all people. The two boys approached the girls, who were sitting at a table in the lobby, sipping on pink smoothies. Carlos pulled a chair up next to the curly haired Jennifer.

"Can we help you with something?" The blonde girl asked using a tone showing that she couldn't really care less about what the boys were doing.

"Uh, well, I lost my helmet yesterday, and I was wondering if any of you three have seen it?" Carlos smiled politely.

"No, we haven't. You can leave now." The brunette Jennifer informed the boy with a lot of sass in her voice. The small Latino looked up at James with dark brown, pleading puppy dog eyes, jutting out his lower lip for added effect. James rolled his eyes and looked down at the Jennifers. Carlos turned around and actually made a small whimpering sound, turning up his cuteness full blast.

"Are you sure?" The tall brunette questioned. The three girls looked back at James and nodded.

"Oh James, we'll never find it. N-nobody knows where it is!" Carlos began to blubber. Tears were streaming down his tan cheeks.

"Awww." The Jennifers cooed. They got up and surrounded Carlos, each of them giving him a hug.

"Now that I think about it, I think I might have seen Logan with your helmet yesterday." The blonde Jennifer said softly. The other two nodded. Carlos' face lit up brightly.

"Thank you!" He chirped.

The Jennifers giggled at the younger teenager like he was an adorable little toddler being silly. They grabbed their smoothies and walked out to the pool. James raised an eyebrow at his now smiling friend.

"How the heck did you do that? He asked in slight awe.

"My brother says it's the eyes. It always worked on my mom." Carlos shrugged. Leave it to Carlos to not realize that he had one of the most powerful weapons in the world. James laughed and threw an arm around the boy's shoulder.

"Let's go find Logan."

X~X~X~X

The duo ended up in Palmwoods Park, where they found their raven-haired friend sitting on a bench reading a medical book.

"Hey, Logie." Carlos greeted. Logan looked up, surprised to see his two friends looming over him. He bent down the corner of the page he was on and closed the book, setting it beside him.

"Hey."

"So, are you sure you haven't seen my helmet?" Carlos inquired curiously. Logan bit down on his lip.

"I told you, I haven't seen it." Logan tried to sound convincing.

"But the Jennifers said they saw you with it yesterday." Carlos informed. The young boy was now growing impatient. All he wanted was his helmet. He needed the comfort; he needed the familiar feeling of the black piece of plastic sitting atop his head where it always was. It just wasn't right without it.

"Oh, well they must've seen something else because I didn't have your helmet. Sorry." Logan gave a sympathetic look. His lie must've worked, from the pained expression on Carlos face.

The small Latino's eyes fell to the grass under his feet. He nuzzled his nose into James' shoulder and let out a sound that was cross between a frustrated groan and a near-tear cry. James wrapped his arm around his friend's shoulder.

"Thanks anyway, Logan. If you find out anything, let us know, 'kay?" James asked. Logan nodded. The tall brunette led Carlos back towards the Palmwoods, and when they were out of earshot, the pale boy let out a long sigh. He didn't know how much longer he's be able to keep this up.

_back at apartment 2J…_

James almost literally had to drag Carlos through the doorway of the apartment. The helmetless boy had become a deadweight, too depressed about his helmet to even care to try to use his legs to walk.

"Okay, Carlos, you've gotta work with me here." James brought his small friend to a chair at the island. Once he was seated, Carlos crossed his arms on the counter, resting his forehead on them. A lone tear slipped down his smooth cheek.

"It's alright Carlos, we'll find your helmet. I promise." James assured. He opened the freezer and pulled out a box of corndogs. "I'm going to heat up some lunch, do you want any?" Carlos shook his head, not looking up.

"I'm not hungry." Was his simple answer.

"Hey, you didn't eat dinner last night, and you didn't eat breakfast this morning. You need to get some kind of food in you, it's not healthy to not eat." James set the box on the counter and put his hand on Carlos' shoulder. The boy looked up, revealing two thin streams of tears rolling down his face.

"I don't want to eat." Carlos' voice quivered with each word. "I just want my helmet. That's all I want." James' heart nearly shattered in two as he saw his little brother seem so, desperate. The normally happy, energetic Latino was now in tears, slumped in a heap on the counter. He couldn't stand seeing him like this.

"How about you take a nap? We can keep looking when you wake up." James suggested. Carlos wiped his eyes and nodded. He held his arms out like a young child. James sighed and picked him up, and carried him bridal-style to their room. He gently placed the boy in his bed, pulling to blue and green blanket over his shoulder. James ruffled his hair and left the room.

Once back in the kitchen, he replaced the corndogs in the freezer and fixed himself a bowl of cereal. He sat at the island, pondering what he was supposed to do when Carlos woke up.

_in Carlos and James' room…_

Carlos lay motionless, staring at the wall next to his bed. He was still crying, and he wasn't expecting to stop anytime soon. He knew he was being a bit overly dramatic, but frankly, he didn't care. All he did care about was finding his beloved helmet. He looked everywhere he could think to, and he still had no idea where it was. Carlos was starting to feel like there was no hope.

_later that evening…_

"Isn't Carlos coming to dinner?" Kendall asked as he sat down at the table to eat. Tonight's meal was Chinese food from the joint up the street. James sighed.

"He said he's not hungry." He explained as he opened up a carton of lomein noodles.

"Seriously? He hasn't eaten in two days. He's going to get sick." Kendall said.

"Well he's too upset about losing his helmet to eat. It's getting ridiculous." James replied. This sent a pang of guilt through Logan's entire body.

"Ugh. Hold on." Kendall excused himself. He left in the direction of where the guys' bedrooms were. There was a moment of silence, then footsteps coming in the direction of the dining room. The blonde came back in with Carlos slung over his shoulder. The smaller teen's arms were crossed and he had a pout on his face. Kendall set him in a chair at the table. "Eat." He commanded.

"I don't want to." Carlos whined, still pouting.

"Yeah, well too bad. You need to eat." Kendall put a plate in front of him and piled it with rice, noodles, and sesame chicken.

"No, I'm too sad." Carlos slumped in his chair.

"Carlos! Not eating isn't going to help you find your helmet any faster!" Logan's voice burst into the conversation. "Why are you even trying to find it? You're too old to take that stupid hunk of plastic _everywhere_ you go! It's not like you're five anymore, Carlos!" Carlos' eyes filled with tears and his cheeks reddened. He stood up and opened his mouth to say something, but he changed his mind and ran off towards his room. There was a slam and everything was silent.

"I'll go check on him." James hurried off after their crying friend.

"Dude, what the heck was that?" Kendall asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

"I don't know." Logan mumbled. James walked back in the room.

"He locked the door, and he refuses to open it." He announced.

"I have to go study." Logan excused himself and went to his own room. Kendall and James looked at each other and sighed. They had no idea what to do to solve this.

X~X~X

Logan ended up locking his and Kendall's bedroom door like Carlos did with his and James'. So that left James and Kendall in the living room trying to figure out what to do about this whole situation.

_in Logan and Kendall's room…_

Logan sat on his bed with Carlos' helmet in his hands. _Maybe I should just give it back to him. Who cares how ridiculous it is?_ He thought to himself. Logan sighed and thought about what he was going to do.

_in Carlos and James' room…_

Carlos sobbed into his pillow. _Why did Logan yell at me?_ He pondered to himself. _Why doesn't he want me to get my helmet back?_ He wiped his face, only to have more tears fall down it. Carlos really wished that he had his helmet. He craved the comfort it gave him, and he felt lost. _Why can't I just find it already?_

_later that night…_

Kendall and James, being locked out of their respective rooms, ended up falling asleep on the couch. Carlos had cried himself to sleep, thus not being able to unlock the door. Logan was still awake, unable to sleep because of the guilt that was eating away at his conscience. It didn't help that there were thin walls between the two bedrooms, and he could hear Carlos' sobs. But now they were silenced, and Logan knew that Carlos was asleep. He knew what he had to do.

As quietly as he could, Logan came out of his room and walked to Carlos' door. Standing on his toes, he reached above the door frame, retrieving the key that everyone else seemed to have forgotten was there. He unlocked the door and took a breath before opening it and stepping in, holding the helmet behind his back.

Carlos' back was facing him while he slept. Logan walked over and gently nudged Carlos' shoulder.

"Carlos, wake up." He whispered. "Carlos, please, I need you to wake up. It's really important." The sleeping boy stirred and sat up.

"Logan?" He rubbed his eyes sleepily. "What are you doing?" He asked carefully, fearing that Logan would scream at him again.

"I have to tell you something." He took in a deep breath before continuing. "First, I'm so sorry for yelling at you. I really crossed the line, I shouldn't have done that."

"It's alright, Logie." Carlos said quietly.

"There's something else too." Logan looked at Carlos, who tilted his head to the side in confusion. He brought the helmet out from behind his back. Carlos took it and looked it over.

"B-but, how, where did you find it?" He asked in an amazed voice. He placed it on his head, smiling as he immediately felt like a ton of weight and sadness lift off of his shoulders.

"I, um, well I…" Logan's voice trailed off. He cleared his throat. "There's no easy way of saying this, but I took it. I lied before, I'm the one who really took it. I'm so, so sorry." Logan wrung his hands nervously.

"What?" Carlos' face fell.

"I took it. I thought that it was ridiculous that you wore it and took it everywhere. I thought taking it was a good thing, but it wasn't, and I'm sorry." Logan confessed. He sat next to Carlos on his bed.

"Oh." Carlos stared at his hands. "Well, it's okay. You brought it back."

"No Carlos, it's not okay. You were so upset, and all I did was continue to lie to you. I was being such a jerk." Logan shook his head.

"But you brought it back, and you said you're sorry. And I forgive you." Carlos gave a small smile. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around Logan. "Thank you." Logan smiled and returned the embrace.

"You know," The pale teen said. "It looks a lot better on your head than it does in my sock drawer." He laughed, Carlos joining in.

Who knew that a simple helmet could cause so much?

NOTES FROM LAUREN NICOLE: IT'S FINALLY DONE! Gosh, you have no idea how long this has been on my computer. I kinda lost my flow with it for a little bit of time, but for the past week I've been focusing on just this one-shot. And I think it was definitely worth it, considering how much _I _happen to like it. And I hope you do too!

Shout out time! Two of my friends recently signed up here! So please please please check them out. Their pennames are: animefreak245 and common ravenclaw. Go drop 'em a review or two =)

Speaking of reviews, if you guys could review this, it'd mean so much! Thanks loves =) 'Til next time,

~Lauren Nicole


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